King Records of Cincinnati (Images of America) - Softcover

McNutt, Randy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0738560790 ISBN 13: 9780738560793

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing, 2009

Synopsis

Starting with a few songs and a dream in 1943, King Records―a leading American independent―launched musical careers from a shabby brick factory on Brewster Avenue in Cincinnati’s Evanston neighborhood. Founder Sydney Nathan recorded country singers Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Wayne Raney, and others and later added black acts such as James Brown and the Famous Flames, Bull Moose Jackson, Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, Lonnie Johnson, and Freddy King. Meanwhile, King also explored polka, jazz, bluegrass, comedy, gospel, pop, and instrumental music―anything that Nathan could sell. Although King’s Cincinnati factory closed in 1971, the company’s diverse catalog of roots music had already become a phenomenon. Its legacy lives on in hundreds of classic recordings that are prized by collectors and musicians.

About this title

About the Author:

Randy McNutt is a nonfiction writer and independent record producer who has recorded with Avco-Embassy, Fraternity, Counterpart, and other companies in the United States, as well as with the Gee-Dee, Hydra, and Rockhouse labels in Europe. He is the author of The Cincinnati Sound and Too Hot to Handle. He lives in Hamilton with his wife, writer Cheryl Bauer, and their three cats.

Review:

Title: Literary: Randy McNutt

Author: Jason Gargano

Publisher: CityBeat

Date: 6/9/2009
The immortal King Records gets another jolt of well-deserved recognition with the publication of King Records of Cincinnati, the latest photo book by South Carolina-based Arcadia Publishing. Randy McNutt has long been immersed in the area’s music scene as both an independent record producer and as the author several music books, including the succinctly titled The Cincinnati Sound. His knowledge of and passion for King Records and its pioneering founder Syd Nathan is apparent in the context-setting captions that accompany the book’s many photos, some of which have never before been published. And while King’s signature act, R&B/Soul master James Brown, gets plenty of space, so do the many other artists that made the Cincinnati-based label such a vital source of music. McNutt and a few King-related guests will discuss the book and the landmark label 7 p.m. Tuesday at Joseph-Beth Booksellers. Free.

About this edition

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0738560790
• ISBN 13: 9780738560793
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128